Apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair of elements



Aug. 21, 1956 CARL-ERIK GRANQVIST 2,759,365

APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF A PAIR OF ELEMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 16, 1951 lNVE NTOR CARL- ERIK GRANQVIST W ATTOR NEY Aug. 21. 1956 CARL-ERIK GRANQVIST 2,759,365

APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF A PAIR OF ELEMENTS Filed Nov. 16, 1951 2 sheets-aheet 2 IN VEN TOR. CAR-l: ERIK GRAN QV\ ST ATTORNEY APPARATUS F OR ADJUSTING THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF A PAIR OF ELEMENTS Carl-Erik Granqvist, Lidingo, Sweden, assignor to Hazeltine Research, Inc., Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application November 16, 1951, Serial No. 256,750

Claims priority, application Sweden November 18, 1950 6 Claims. (Cl. 74-10.6)

For ultra short-wave reception it is extremely difficult to use condensers ganged for common setting, and of the kind usually otherwise used in broadcast radio receivers. The connections between the variable condenser and the electrically active parts connected thereto, such as electron tubes and so on, have always certain distributed inductance, but for normal broadcast radio frequencies this is so small that it may be neglected. On the other hand, the inductive reactance will be essentially greater for ultra short waves or ultra high frequencies. Due to the inductance being distributed, one can no longer regard the capacity as concentrated, and the capacity may therefore also not be compensated for by means of a fixed trimmer capacity.

To avoid the errors in alignment between the distributed conductor capacities and the fixed, concentrated trimmer capacities, following upon displacements of the wave length setting, or, in order at least to decrease the errors thus emanating, it has already been proposed to divide the wave-length ranges in a number of partial ranges of less extension. The different partial ranges are thereby tuned by means of the same condenser, but only after connection of given, fixed, basic capacities, as is the case also when dividing the reception range in usual wave-length ranges. However, there are also provided means for alignment of the fixed basic capacities, for instance in connection with a control of the reliability of the set, when changing a used electron tube, and so on. Condensers, suited for this purpose, have been called raster condensers. The present invention refers to the construction of such a raster condenser. For a better understanding of the present invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims. In accordance with a particular from of the invention, an apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair of elements comprises a pair of members for supporting one of the elements for rotational and bidirective longitudinal displacement relative to the other thereof. The apparatus also includes a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices supported by one of the aforesaid members and projecting longitudinally variable distances therefrom and effectively defining by their projecting ends a locus of points for selective engagement with the other of the members at the aforesaid ends upon the aforesaid relative rotational displacement to control the above-mentioned relative longitudinal displacement and thereby eifect a coarse adjustment of the aforesaid relative positions. The apparatus further includes a resilient support for supporting the other of the elements and a movable control device adjustably engaging the support for moving the aforesaid support and the aforesaid other element to produce additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements which effects a fine adjustment of the relative positions.

States Patent 2,759,365 Patented Aug. 21, 1956 In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view and Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal axial sectional view of a raster condenser according to one form of the present invention.

The capacity creating members or elements of the condenser contain, in this case, one stator member 40 and one rotor member 41. The stator member, however, is divided into two parts 11 and 12 mutually insulated, and cooperating with the common insulated rotor member 41. The rotor member may preferably, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, contain a plate 10 at its downturned side provided with a number of circular concentric flanges or borders 42, 42 defining circular grooves 42, 43. The parts 11 and 12 of the stator member are halfcircular and are provided with upturned arcuate concentric borders 44, 44, so arranged that they enter into the grooves 43, 43 of the rotor member 41. Two such stator parts 11 and 12 are shown in the drawings, but it is obvious that one can equally well use a greater number of stator parts, each of them thereby having a smaller angular extension than The division into partial wave-length ranges now takes place by the axial displacement of the rotor member 41 by means of the shaft 13, whereas the tuning within the partial wave-length range will take place by means of a second shaft 14, which provides an axial displacement of the stator parts.

The shaft 13 is provided to be axially displaced. For control of the displacement of said shaft, there is provided at about the middle point of this shaft a lug 45 (see Fig. 2) in which a pin 15 is mounted perpendicularly to the shaft. The pin 15 carries a pulley, preferably a ball bearing roller 16, which will therefore follow a circular path at the rotation of shaft 13. Along this circular path a number of screws 17 are arranged, which extend through a segmental guide ring 18, and further through spring locks comprising lock washers 19 for locking the screws in set position, as well as through the frame 20 of the condenser.

These screws 17 penetrate above the upper level of the frame 20 with transversely planed surfaces 21, so applied that the ball bearing roller 16, when rotating with the shaft 13, will successively bear upon one after the other of the planed surfaces 21 of the screws 17. Thereby, the shaft 13 is made subject to an axial displacement, and the rotor member 41 suitably attached to one end of the shaft 13 will thus partly be made subject to a rotational movement which of itself, however, will cause no change in the tuning position. The rotor member will also be made subject to an axial movement by which the capacity will be changed in such a way that a new basic capacity, corresponding to a new partial wave-length range, will be established every time the ball bearing roller 16 is fully resting upon the upper surface 21 of one of the planed screws 17.

The setting within the partial wave-length range thus entered into, will be effected by means of the shaft 14. This rests in two bearings 22 and 23 (see Fig. 1) attached to the upper frame plate 24 of the condenser, which is carried by the lower portion of the frame 20 just mentioned, by means of a number of supports 25. On the shaft 14 is further applied an eccentrical outer shaft 26, which extends through the one bearing 22, where the eccentrical outer shaft carries a setting ring 27. The setting ring 27 is provided with a stop or set screw 28 for the mutual fixing of the inner shaft with reference to the outer shaft. Between the two bearings 22 and 23 the eccentrical outer shaft further carries two pulleys or discs 29 and 30, respectively, which possibly may also be settably provided upon the eccentrical outer shaft and provided with eccentrical hubs. It is easily seen that by means of such an arrangement one may provide a very strongly varying movement,- as will be described below;

The stator parts 11 and 12 are arranged on a leaf spring 31, at its one end fixed to the frame by means of screws 32 at its other end contacting the ceefifrical discs 29' and so and movable in a vertical direction between the two bearings 22 and 23. When these discs 29 and 30 are turned, the spring 31 will, consequently, be bent, and the stator part 12 will move inwards or outwards relative to the rotor plate 10. Also the stator part 11 is moving in same direction, but due to the spring 31 being fastened at its end adjacent to the stator part 11, the movement of the stator part 11 will be somewhat smaller than that of part 12. This will, however, be of no importancein the present case, because the two condensers formed by the stator part 11 and the stator part 12, res ectivel with the comnion rotor plate 10, are in the receiver apparatus connected in balanced coupling, that means they are connected in series for the tuning purposes, and only the reduced series capacity is entering as a tuning capacity.

From the above it is evident that by means of the screws 17 one may set a number of fixed basic frequencies which the condenser will assume when the shaft 14 is at a standstill, according to the ball bearing roller 16 rolling up on one planned screw end 21 after the other one. It is also evident that no high degree of precision is required in the angular setting of shaft 13, because a turning in one direction or the other of for instance 1 means only that the ball bearing roller 16 will roll from the one side to the other one of the planed upper surface 21 of one and same screw, but the axial position will thereby in no way be changed.

One may therefore connect or gear together a great number of condensers of the described kind simply by fixing cog-wheels to the shafts 13, and the result will be that all the condensers may be set to the same basic frequency by means of a common setting of the shafts under cooperation of the cog-wheels. The small dead movements or lost motion, always found in cog-wheels and which make the use of such cog-wheels impossible as connection means for ordinary tuning condensers, are of no importance in the present case.

Within each tuning range, the tuning will, then, take place by lowering or lifting the stator parts 11 and 12 by means of the shaft 14 and the eccentric discs 29 and 30 applied thereon (see Fig. 1). In many a case one will obtain quite satisfactory results, if the eccentric discs 29 and '30 are arranged in a fixed position on the eccentric outer shaft 26, because one will then only have to set this shaft in correct position by means of the setting screw 28, but it may also occur that one will not only set the capacity in one point of the characteristic of the condenser, but also its slope of variation. It is easily seen, that if one makes the shaft 26 for instance with one millimeter eccentricity and the two eccentric discs 29 and 30 with one millimeter further eccentricity, then one may set the whole of the arrangement by turning the discs 29 and 30 to any desired position of eccentricity between 0 millimeter and 2 millimeters, whereas it is possible, by means of the screw 28, to control the axial position of said eccentricity relative to the shaft 14. Thus, one has here a double setting possibility, wholly corresponding to the known setting possibility for the minimum capacity and the slope at ordinary broadcast radio condensers.

From this it is also evident that when a plurality of condensers of the type under consideration are to be arranged for conjoint operation, one can directly connect a number of shafts 14 in the longitudinal direction to each other, and one will obtain such a coupling which makes it possible to obtain a common tuning within each of the present partial tuning ranges. If one also connects the shafts 13 of same condensers by means of a simple cogwheel connection, and if one sets screws 17, corresponding to each other, in the different condensers for the same basic capacity, one will have obtained full alignment.

In such an arrangement, it is however important that the condensers are rigidly connected to the frame. On the other hand, the shafts 13 will be mutually displaced, and even if it will, as a rule, occur that the axial displacement of the shaft 13 will be exactly the same, it is however desirable that one either makes the cog-wheels on said shafts slidable or makes them so broad that a slidability is secured between their cogs without the cog connection ceasing.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the described tuning condenser comprises a tunable electrical apparatus including a pair of electrical elements, namely, the stator member 40 and the rotor member 41, which form condenser electrodes. The frame 20 comprises one member and the shaft 13, the bushing 45 and the roller 16 mounted thereon comprise the other of a pair of memhers for supporting one of the elements, namely, the rotor member 41 for rotational displacement relative to the other electrical element or stator member 40 to vary an electrical characteristic or the capacitance of the apparatus. It will also be clear that the adjustable screws 17 and their planed surfaces 21 comprise a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices projecting longitudinally variable distances from one of the members, namely, the frame 20, and effectively defining a locus of points for selective 'ngager'nent with the other of the members, spe cifically, the roller 16 thereof, upon relative rotational displacement to control the relative longitudinal displacement and thereby effect a coarse adjustment of the capacitance of the condenser. It will further be seen that the leaf spring 31 comprises a resilient support for the other of the electrical elements, namely, the stator member 40, and that the cam assembly comprising elements 14, 26, 22, 30 and 27 comprises a movable control device adj'us'tabl'y engaging the support or leaf spring 31 for producing additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements or members 4-0 and 41 to effect a fine adjustment of the capacitance of the condenser.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the specific forth of execution thereof, shown in the drawing and above described in connection with same. Especially it is possible, within the spirit of the invention, to make the arrangement as a whole as an inductive tuning means instead of a capacitive tuning means. In such a case, one may replace one or both of the active parts, for instance the stator part by a winding, and the other one, for instance the rotor part by an iron-powder core. It is also possible to provide other combinations, for instance to provide iron-powder cores on each of the stator and rotor parts, said iron-powder cores being moved closer to each other or more apart for changing the inductance in a coil, within the field range of which the cores are applied, 'or movable short circuit bodies or the like may be arranged in the same field. said bodies being movable by means of an apparatus according to the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair 'of elements comprising: a pair of members for supporting one of the elements for rotational and bidirective longitudinal displacement relative to the other thereof; a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices supported by one of said members and projecting longitudinally variable dist'an'ces therefrom and effectively defining by their projecting ends a locus of points for selective engagement with the other of said members at said ends upon said relative rotational displacement to control said relative longitudinal displacement and thereby effect a coarse adjustment of said relative positions; a resilient support for supporting the other of the elements; and a movable control device adjustably engaging said support for moving said support and the other element to produce additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements which effec'ts a fine adjustment of said relative positions.

2. 'An apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair of elements comprising: a pair of members for supporting one of the elements for rotational and bidirective longitudinal displacement relative to the other thereof; a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices supported by one of said members and projecting longitudinally variable distances therefrom and effectively defining by their projecting ends a locus of points for selective engagement with the other of said members at said ends upon said relative rotational displacement to control said relative longitudinal displacement and thereby effect a coarse adjustment of said relative positions; a leaf spring support fixed at one end thereof for supporting the other of the elements; and a movable control device including a cam adjustably engaging the free end of said support for moving said support and the other element to produce additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements which effects a fine adjustment of said relative positions.

3. An apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair of elements comprising: a pair of members for supporting one of the elements for rotational and bidirective longitudinal displacement relative to the other thereof; a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices supported by one of said members and projecting longitudinally variable distances therefrom and effectively defining by their projecting ends a locus of points for selective engagement with the other of said members at said ends upon said relative rotational displacement to control said relative longitudinal displacement and thereby effect a coarse adjustment of said relative positions; a resilient support for supporting the other of the elements; and a movable control device including a cam adjustably engaging said support for moving said support and the other element to produce additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements which effects a fine adjustment of said relative positions.

4. An apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair of elements comprising: a pair of members for supporting one of the elements for rotational and bidirective longitudinal displacement relative to the other thereof; a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices supported by one of said members and projecting longitudinally variable distances therefrom and effectively defining by their projecting ends a locus of points for selective engagement with the other of said members at said ends upon said rel-ative rotational displacement to control said relative longitudinal displacement and thereby effect a coarse adjustment of said relative positions; a leaf-spring support fixed at one end thereof for supporting the other of the elements; and a movable control device adjustably engaging said support for moving said support and the other element to produce additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements which effects a fine adjustment of said relative positions.

5. An apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair of elements comprising: a pair of members for supporting one of the elements for rotational and bidirective longitudinal displacement relative to the other thereof; a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices supported by one of said members and projecting longitudinally variable distances therefrom; said other member including a rotatable and longitudinally movable shaft having a radially extending roller secured thereto; said stop devices effectively defining by their projecting ends a locus of points for selective engagement with said roller upon said relative rotational displacement to control said relative longitudinal displacement and thereby effect a coarse adjustment of said relative positions; a resilient support for supporting the other of the elements; and a movable control device adjustably engaging said support for moving said support and the other element to produce additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements which eflects a fine adjustment of said relative positions.

6. An apparatus for adjusting the relative positions of a pair of elements having a pair of electrical elements comprising: a pair of members for supporting one of the elements for rotational and bidirective longitudinal displacement relative to the other thereof; a plurality of individually adjustable stop devices supported by one of said members and projecting longitudinally variable distances therefrom and effectively defining by their projecting ends a locus of points; said other of said members including a rotatable and longitudinally movable shaft having a radially extending roller secured thereto for selective engagement with said ends upon said relative rotational displacement to control said relative longitudinal displacement and thereby effect a coarse adjustment of said relative positions; a leaf-spring support fixed at one end thereof for supporting the other of the elements; and a movable control device including a cam adjustably engaging said support for moving said support and the other of the elements to produce additional relative longitudinal displacement of the elements which effects a fine adjustment of the said relative positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,810,985 Reichenbach June 23, 1931 1,879,294 Jones Sept. 27, 1932 2,421,168 Stamper May 27, 1947 2,592,151 Jahnke Apr. 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 459,013 Great Britain Dec. 31, 1936 617,098 Great Britain Feb. 1, 1949 

